Every year more and more
women are making up more of the work force, even though pay, work/family
balance, and welfare make an impact on women and their families.
Although women make up much of the work force they are still being
paid much less than men. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits unequal
pay for equal work. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also profibits
wage discrimination of the basis of race, sex, religion, national
origin, or disability. Even though pay equity is the law, pay
is not equal between the genders. A reason for this may be due
to globalization of the economy. Decent jobs are moved overseas
and being replaced by lower paying industries or low wage service
jobs (Bravo, 1999). The pay gap between genders may also exist
because women and minorities are segregated into low paying jobs
(National Committee on Pay Equity, 1999). Pay equity laws are
also hard to enforce and even harder to prove. The pay gap has
narrowed over the last 17 years from 61.7% in 1982 to 76.5% in
1999. This narrowing of the gap, however, is only half due to
increases in women's wages. It is also half due to a decrease
in men's wages (National Committee on Pay Equity, 1999). In order
for women as a whole to benefit, the fight for gender equality
must go hand in hand with the struggle against all forms of
oppression.
This webpage will focus on the wage gap seen between men and women. It will look into possible reasons for this gap and organizations that can help decrease the gap. A checklist is also included so that women can check to see if they are being discriminated against, and what to do if they are. It is important for women to know how far they have come in the workforce and how far they still have to go.
Bravo, Ellen and Santa Anna, Gloria. 1999. "An Overview of Women and Work." In Kesselman et al. Women: Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Pp. 189-193.
National Committe on Pay Equity. 1999. "The Wage Gap: Myths and Facts." In Kesselman et al. Women: Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Pp 193-200.
Image from http://un.org/womenwatch/